Growing public concern about license plate reader systems has led a key state senator to consider legislation to limit abuses by police.
After nearly weekly news reports of law enforcement officers accused of misusing license plate reader data for personal purposes, such as spying on friends and family, Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, said on Tuesday that he was joining a new task force to explore whether legislation is needed.
He said other lawmakers also were invited to join.
“Like every citizen in our state, we’re concerned about the abuses that have taken place,” said Albers, who, as chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, has influence over law enforcement legislation.
News reports about police misuse of the camera systems in Georgia increased this year, as more local departments started auditing use and reporting potential abuses to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
As recently as last week, three former officers in Savannah were charged with misuse of a license plate reader system and violation of oath of office, WSB-TV reported Monday, noting that a fourth employee also was charged with misuse of the system.
In separate Georgia cases, former law enforcement employees also have been charged with misuse, as well as stalking and computer invasion of privacy.
Atlanta-based Flock Safety is one of the leading companies in the license plate reader industry. The company told Atlanta News First in 2023 that its cameras were watching in at least 70% of Georgia’s cities.
The proliferation of its cameras has been accompanied by concerns about privacy.
At least 30 localities across the country had deactivated their Flock cameras or canceled their contracts with the company since the beginning of 2025, NPR reported in February. That report noted that Flock CEO Garrett Langley had criticized DeFlock, a crowdsourced mapping project.
As of Tuesday, DeFlock’s website reported that more than 130 cities had canceled Flock contracts, deactivated their cameras or otherwise rejected the systems. But the website said there were still at least 135,000 license plate readers in use.
In mid-August, Flock announced new accountability and privacy measures. The company said it was reducing its recommended default data retention period from 30 days to seven. It also said it was letting cities control the types of offenses that external law enforcement agencies could search their data for.
Flock’s network stitches together law enforcement across the country. Last week, the Utah News Dispatch reported that 10 Flock cameras in one county had been searched more than five million times between February 2022 and July, nearly 97% of the searches coming from law enforcement in 45 other states.
Flock has said its technology helped locate 10,000 missing persons in 2025, adding that the cameras contributed “significantly” to the recovery of stolen vehicles.
Police in Cobb County credited interagency access to the Flock network for the capture of the suspect in a deadly Midtown Atlanta shooting in 2023, according to Atlanta News First.
Albers said the new task force was formed by the Georgia Association of Sheriffs and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, he said he was unsure whether any legislation would emerge from their discussions. He noted the distinction of legislating Flock cameras on public versus private property, and he emphasized their value to police work.
“People have concerns and public trust is paramount,” he said.
He also called the cameras “an invaluable crime-fighting tool.”
